“Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.”
- Georges Blanc, Ma Cuisine des Saisons!

August 27, 2007

Tomato, Fennel with Walnut Pesto Rigatoni is my contribution to Marta from "An Italian in US" blog's event called "Fresh produce of the month". She selects a produce every month to get creative with it and this month it is "Tomato!". What a great produce to select for this year's HOT Summer,atleast here in the South! Thanks for hosting Marta!:)

Well.. as I said, it is HOT here in NC and you know what that means.Gallons of Tomatoes and other produce thriving in the Sun if you are lucky enough to have a garden patch in your backyard. Boy, do I have it?! I am getting so many Tomatoes,I am running out of ideas what to cook with them! :D

Homegrown Cherry and Pear Tomatoes:

Just after I gave a big bag of Cherry tomatoes to my neighbor, I remembered this Tomato event and thought I would use my rest of Tomatoes to make this pasta dish.I am using Cherry and Pear Tomatoes along with fragrant Fennel bulbs with Basil Walnut pesto to add to cooked Rigatoni pasta. Sounds good or what? Enjoy:))

Basil Walnut Pesto Pasta flavored with Fennel bulbs and Tomatoes:

You can use just Basil Pine nuts Pesto which has a gorgeous green color,adding Walnuts makes it a healthier with a nutty taste and gives a brownish green color.Your choice!:)

You need:

1 cup peeled and thinly sliced Fennel Bulb,mostly white part and some green leaves too, 8-10 Cherry and Pear Tomatoes (you can use any tomatoes you have at hand),1 tsp any spice seasoning mix like Steak spices etc which has dried onion,garlic,herbs etc, 2-3 tbsp Basil pine nuts and Walnut Pesto, homemade (recipe below) or store bought, salt, pepper or chilli flakes, and finally 1 cup dry Rigatoni or any pasta cooked until Al Dente(to the bite) and keep it aside mixed with little butter to keep them separate ready to add to the Fennel stir-fry.

How to make it:

Heat a pan, add 1 tsp of butter. Put in a chilli flakes,all the the slices if Fennel bulb and greens,stir fry for 2-3 mins or until they get a slightly golden color on the edges.Add in Tomatoes,salt and stir fry again for a minute. You don't have cook the Tomatoes to a mush but roast until skin is shiny and slightly wilted but they should remain whole.

Sprinkle spice seasoning,mix.Take out to a big glass bowl.Add cooked warm Pasta and add a tbsp or two of Pesto and mix well.Taste and adjust the seasonings. If you find Pasta is little dry,add 1 tbsp hot water(I save some water in which Pasta is cooked before draining the pasta). And there is your yummy Dinner! Serve with Bread sticks and Garlic Bread have a wonderful meal!:)

My Cherry and Pear Tomatoes harvest this year:

To make Pesto at home: Pulse 2 cups fresh basil leaves,1/4 cup each grated Parmesan,3 peeled garlic cloves,1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts or both mixed equally, slightly roasted,Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste in a blender until coarse mix.Then start pouring 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil thru' the top spout with the blender on low until you get a paste.Take it out to a glass jar and store in the fridge.Have fun!!:)

(Latha N, I made something for your event too, coming up on Wednesday here.Didn't have the time to type in although I have the photo!)

Evrytime i see ur tomato harvest, I love it even more! Maybe coz I love tomatoes :)I have nver tasted fennel in my entire life.. :D Kinda reminds me of the Indian leafy vegetable (we call it shepu in Marathi) with a stupid taste which keeps lingering for hours.. Dunno if they are same.. Any replacements??

It was delicious Madhu!:)Pesto with little more garlic tastes so good in Pasta,I love it.You can add any veggies you like for this as well!:)

Manasi, I think it is the Fennel(Saunfwala)plant with bottom part like root intact.It does smell like Saunf (very subtle though), not as strong as seeds.It is tasty roasted, buy a small one and try.Some people don't like the Saunf taste,I love it!:))

sra, not only they are small,bright yellow and Pear shaped, it's also very sweet! You can't even get those to buy here at the grocery store.I got lucky to find a plant, just one plant gave me tons of fruits!:)Hope I will find this plant again next year too,Summer is almost over now.

Pavani,thanks. Pasta was delicious with light flavor of Fennel.Hope you try! Enjoy:))

Roopa, that's exactly how it tastes, you got it right!:)But I know some here who hates the Fennel taste! I love the smell, sometimes I add it too Indian dishes too.

LOL! J, I understand. Don't say anything and don't look at food blogs now for a while!:DGlad you had a great Sadya.I made a Kerala dish too for us,a simple but my favorite today.Go to sleep now, need few hrs to digest all that!:))

Suganya, just two!! I always find Tomatoes are the easiest to grow of all plants,low maintainence.I guess it depends on the soil too,good luck next year.Summer is almost over.We cleaned up all plants except Tomato last weekend!:)

Hello The cooker, I do have many dishes made with Fennel seeds but not with Fennel bulb.I made one yesterday,will post sometimes.You can add to Pulao too, will be fragrant and tasty.Try it!:)Hope you checked the RCI Karnataka event details at Foodie's Hope!:)

Asha, thanks a lot for this and sorry I didn't get your email earlier!! It's a wonderful entry, the pasta looks absolutely great, and I'm amazed about the beauty of your tomatoes!Thanks a lot for taking part to the event. :)

Hi Marta, I thought you might not have received it, so I left a comment today! Thanks, it was a joy to grow them every Summer. We are still enjoying them. Thanks for choosing Tomato for this month too:)

Hey...I tried ur pesto...but without walnut....and we both liked it esply my hubby :) Thanks a lot...just one doubt..,can I freeze this even if the cheese is there ? and if I am refrigerating, How long I can keep it?

Hi shn,glad you liked it.Walnuts are always optional.You can freeze the Pesto,I freeze block of cheese too and in the fridge,the whole dish lasts about maximum 2 days.Pesto by itself lasts for a week in the fridge if you have added good amount of Olive oil.Enjoy:))

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